Tears for Paradise. Tears of reflection, regret, and repentance. Tears of acceptance and submission to Allah, Lord of Creation and Master of the Day of Judgement. I have awakened from a slumber where I had forsaken my Creator and Master. I need to make amends, repent and run to my Master, Allah SWT before the end comes. Al Fatihah. May Allah be pleased with us all...ameen.

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Sunday, 16 September 2012

The Third Caliph, Uthman(R.A.)

“Every Prophet has an assistant, and my assistant will be Uthman.”(Hadith)

Uthman’s Election

When ‘Umar fell under the assassin’s dagger, before he died the people asked
him to nominate his successor. ‘Umar appointed a committee consisting of six of
the ten companions of the Prophet (peace be on him) about whom the Prophet had
said, “They are the people of Heaven” – Ali, Uthman, Abdul Rahman, Sa’ad,
Al-Zubayr and Talha – to select the next Caliph from among themselves. He also
outlined the procedure to be followed if any differences of opinion should
arise. Abdul Rahman withdrew his name. He was then authorized by the committee
to nominate the Caliph. After two days of discussion among the candidates and
after the opinions of the Muslims in Medina had been ascertained, the choice
was finally limited to Uthman and Ali. Abdul Rahman came to the mosque together
with other Muslims, and after a brief speech and questioning of the two men,
swore allegiance to Uthman. All those present did the same, and Uthman became
the third Caliph of Islam in the month of Muharram, 24 A.H.

Uthman’s Life

Uthman bin Affan was born seven years after the Holy Prophet (peace be on
him). He belonged to the Omayyad branch of the Quraish tribe. He learned to
read and write at an early age, and as a young man became a successful
merchant. Even before Islam Uthman had been noted for his truthfulness and
integrity. He and Abu Bakr were close friends, and it was Abu Bakr who brought
him to Islam when he was thirty-four years of age. Some years later he married
the Prophet’s second daughter, Ruqayya. In spite of his wealth and position,
his relatives subjected him to torture because he had embraced Islam, and he
was forced to emigrate to Abyssinia. Some time later he returned to Mecca but
soon migrated to Medina with the other Muslims. In Medina his business again
began to flourish and he regained his former prosperity. Uthman’s generosity
had no limits. On various occasions he spent a great portion of his wealth for
the welfare of the Muslims, for charity and for equipping the Muslim armies.
That is why he came to be known as ‘Ghani’ meaning ‘Generous.’

Uthman’s wife, Ruqayya was seriously ill just before the Battle of Badr and
he was excused by the Prophet (peace be on him) from participating in the
battle. The illness Ruqayya proved fatal, leaving Uthman deeply grieved. The
Prophet was moved and offered Uthman the hand of another of his daughters,
Kulthum. Because he had the high privilege of having two daughters of the
Prophet as wives Uthman was known as ‘The Possessor of the Two Lights. ‘

Uthman participated in the Battles of Uhud and the Trench. After the
encounter of the Trench, the Prophet (peace be on him) determined to perform
Hajj and sent Uthman as his emissary to the Quraish in Mecca, who detained him.
The episode ended in a treaty with the Meccans known as the Treaty of
Hudaibiya.

The portrait we have of Uthman is of an unassuming, honest, mild, generous
and very kindly man, noted especially for his modesty and his piety. He often
spent part of the night in prayer, fasted every second or third day, performed
hajj every year, and looked after the needy of the whole community. In spite of
his wealth, he lived very simply and slept on bare sand in the courtyard of the
Prophet’s mosque. Uthman knew the Qur’an from memory and had an intimate
knowledge of the context and circumstances relating to each verse.

Uthman’s Caliphate

During Uthman’s rule the characteristics of Abu Bakr’s and Umar’s caliphates
– impartial justice for all, mild and humane policies, striving in the path of
God, and the expansion of Islam – continued. Uthman’s realm extended in the
west to Morocco, in the east to Afghanistan, and in the north to Armenia and
Azerbaijan. During his caliphate a navy was organized, administrative divisions
of the state were revised, and many public projects were expanded and
completed. Uthman sent prominent Companions of the Prophet (peace be on him) as
his personal deputies to various provinces to scrutinize the conduct of
officials and the condition of the people.

Uthman’s most notable contribution to the religion of God was the
compilation of a complete and authoritative text of the Qur’an. A large number
of copies of this text were made and distributed all over the Muslim world.

Uthman ruled for twelve years. The first six years were marked by internal
peace and tranquility, but during the second half of his caliphate a rebellion
arose. The Jews and the Magians, taking advantage of dissatisfaction among the
people, began conspiring against Uthman, and by publicly airing their
complaints and grievances, gained so much sympathy that it became difficult to
distinguish friend from foe.

It may seem surprising that a ruler of such vast territories, whose armies
were matchless, was unable to deal with these rebels. If Uthman had wished, the
rebellion could have been crushed at the very moment it began. But he was
reluctant to be the first to shed the blood of Muslims, however rebellious they
might be. He preferred to reason with them, to persuade them with kindness and
generosity. He well remembered hearing the Prophet (peace be on him) say, “Once
the sword is unsheathed among my followers, it will not be sheathed until the
Last Day.”

The rebels demanded that he abdicate and some of the Companions advised him
to do so. He would gladly have followed this course of action, but again he was
bound by a solemn pledge he had given to the Prophet. “Perhaps God will clothe
you with a shirt, Uthman” the Prophet had told him once, “and if the people
want you to take it off, do not take it off for them.” Uthman said to a
well-wisher on a day when his house was surrounded by the rebels, “God’s
Messenger made a covenant with me and I shall show endurance in adhering to
it.”

After a long siege, the rebels broke into Uthman’s house and murdered him.
When the first assassin’s sword struck Uthman, he was reciting the verse,

“Verily, God sufficeth thee; He is the All-Hearing, the
All-Knowing” [2:137]

Uthman breathed his last on the afternoon of Friday, 17 Dhul Hijja, 35 A.H.
(June. (656 A.C.). He was eighty-four years old. The power of the rebels was so
great that Uthman’s body lay unburied until Saturday night when he was buried
in his blood-stained clothes, the shroud which befits all martyrs in the cause
of God.

from the Stories of the Sahabah (companions of the Prophet SAW) - www. easeapps.com

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A humbled, weary traveller who wandered very far across land and sea of Dunya. A little shy and sad of eyes but unwise was he....One magic day, the princess came his way and then he learnt many things of fools and the King of kings. The greatest thing he had ever learnt is just to love and be loved by Him in return.....